Uninsured children rate declines since 2000

5:14 PM,
Sep. 24, 2013

Written by

Jessica Shappley
Mississippi Economic Policy Center

The number of children without health insurance in Mississippi fell dramatically between 2006 and 2012 from 117,619 to 68,472 according to Census Bureau data released last week. These gains were largely due to the success of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), launched in 1998, along with Medicaid.

The trend among children, however, contrasts sharply with that of adults. In 2012, more than 450,000 adult Mississippians younger than 65 did not have health insurance. That's largely because private insurance coverage - in particular, job-based coverage - declined over the ...